Utah Guard sgt. aims for Miss America 2008

[CommunityEditor]

Sgt. Jill Stevens will trade in her Army uniform for a designer dress when she participates in the illustrious Miss America pageant Jan. 26 in Las Vegas.

To boost publicity of “GI Jill,” the Army recently launched a Web site devoted to chronicling her preparation for the event, which will air live on TLC. The site features a blog written by Stevens.

Stevens is a member of the Utah National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment. She had just started nursing school at Southern Utah University in the fall of 2005 when the school’s pageant director recruited her to run for Miss SUU, according to the Army.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, right.’ I wear combat boots; I don’t do heels,” she said in a statement.

That year, she won Miss SUU and went on to become second runner-up in the 2006 Miss Utah pageant, according to the Army.

Stevens joined the Army National Guard six months before 9/11. Two years later, she deployed to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, where she cared for 10 to 40 soldiers a day at the medical aid station.



Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...IJill_071123w/
Video: http://www.militarytimes.com/multime.../071128_gijill
Blog: http://www.army.mil/gijill/